LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Cost-Plus War

Regarding the invasion and occupation of Iraq that may end this
September, whether or not the incumbent president signs the Iraq
accountability bill: After Pearl Harbor, the nation was mobilized.
The beloved Franklin D. Roosevelt's first "Fireside Chat" had him
correct "sacrifice" to "privilege" to serve our country. Executives
served for a dollar a year until Congress could authorize the job
they did. The top federal income tax rate was 90% because gold was
pegged at $35 an ounce and money had to get to the people doing the
work. FDR said, "there will be no millionaires made from this
tragedy." Congress criminalized profiteering, price gouging and
fraud. American military logistics was not privatized, so the US
senator from Missouri, Harry S Truman, could easily contain cost. Our
Nazi enemy had a private army, the Waffen-SS, that ran its death
camps ...

In 1947, America was as wealthy as it had been in its history
because of the money saved by its workers. The GI Bill of Rights gave
returning veterans the opportunity to learn to become entrepreneurs
and middle class.

In contrast, profiteering, price gouging and fraud were
decriminalized before the invasion of Iraq. Almost half of the
Americans there are private contractors who get paid $100,000 a year
tax-free to do work the military does for $38,000 a year and pay
taxes on it.

A private security firm, CACI, runs Iraq's military prisons, not
unlike the Nazi Waffen-SS. Private contractors train the Iraqi
military, a job special forces used to do. In four years, the private
contractors have been able to train 6,000 Iraqi military, per the
Randi Rhodes Show.

At Camp Speicher, Iraq, late summer, 2004, an Army brigadier
general and the Army's logistics contract manager were informed by
Halliburton's "KBR manager responsible for supplying the troops in
this camp with food, water and all other services and supplies
[that he] had threatened to stop KBR's work at Camp Speicher
-- to stop cooking and feeding the troops, to stop supplying the
troops outside the base -- unless the Army paid KBR's submitted
invoices ... If soldiers or officers tried to pull this same stunt in
the old Army, the general would court-martial them and they could be
sent to prison." (Dina Rasor and Robert Bauman, Betraying Our Troops:
The Destructive Results of Privatizing War [Palgrave Macmillan,
2007], page 1.)

Halliburton's mission was to make money. Its contract had no
specific performance clause that would allow the Army to fire it and
was written so that the more money it spent, the more money it
made,so it had no incentive to end the war. The US Army's mission is
to win the war or at least arrive at a treaty with an acceptable
level of violence that it could leave Iraq. The US Constitution's
provision that appropriations are for two years gives Congress the
power to end the war. (Article I, Section 8.)

Joseph J. Kuciejczyk
St. Louis, Mo.

Undermine Dem Leaders

Re: "Getting US Out of Iraq," Editorial, 4/15/07 TPP: Out of Iraq
founder Maxine Waters says the Caucus "released" some group members
from voting nay on the spending bill so as not to appear to be
undermining Pelosi's leadership.

If Pelosi or any Democratic "leader" isn't working in the best
interests of the nation, they need to be undermined. This is the
problem. Congress members such as those in the Black and Progressive
Caucuses make a little noise about an issue then quietly kowtow to
the demands of the party leadership -- a leadership that works for
the interests of corporations and the rich, not the average Joe.

If Caucus groups would stand firm for their convictions and put
up a good fight, they'd start to win more battles. The Democrats
assumed majority in Congress in November but spent months hand
wringing over a useless nonbinding resolution when they should have
come out swinging for an immediate troop withdrawal. Out of Iraq
Caucus members and other anti-war Dems should have mounted the mother
of all fights to force their lolly gagging leaders to kowtow to them
for a change.

As for MoveOn, it has morphed into an extension of the
corporatist wing of the party. I understand that compromise is part
of politics, but why must those fighting for the little guy always
give in to big brother? Soldiers are being maimed and killed in Iraq
for nothing. The Iraqi government won't do s**t as long as it can
hide behind US soldiers. Let's save our GIs from needless death and
destruction. Anti-war Congress members must stand up to Pelosi and
other road blockers for what's right and just.

Beverly Rice
Charlotte, N.C.

Direct Language

Anyone against the war in Iraq needs to consider using much more
inspired and passionate rhetoric. The Bush administration has made it
very clear that they have no intention of winding down this
fraudulent war, and those who oppose it can no longer "walk on egg
shells" in the way that they describe this ugly situation.

Public speaking professionals know that there are generally three
levels of commitment that they can get from an audience. Opinion, the
first stage, is the weakest. This is where someone has a vague idea
that they believe in something, but it is easily changed by logic or
emotion. Belief, the second state, has more intensity and certainty,
and the person has begun to develop some strong feelings and
commitments. Conviction, the third stage, is by far the most
passionate and determined. This is where people have a solid idea of
what they believe, and are willing to stay focused and work hard to
see it accomplished.

In order to change the opinion of the average American, anti-war
activists need to use a much more fierce and passionate rhetoric.
Now, repeat after me: "The war in Iraq is based on lies. We are
squandering billions of dollars every month to help boost
Halliburton's profits. This war has always been about oil, there
never was a direct connection between Iraq and 9/11."

Rick Sheridan
Chico, Calif.

Conservative Nannies

I felt like I was hit straight in the gut reading Mike Hall's
"Attack of Wage Eating Monsters Sequel" [5/15/07 TPP]. To say
that I am infuriated, incensed, enraged, outraged, irate and
horrified doesn't begin to say how mad I am that Missouri legislators
are planning on gutting part of the minimum wage law. This law was an
absolutely clear mandate from the people of my state.

For goodness sake, the minimum wage was $2.50 an hour FORTY years
ago. America is supposed to be the richest country in the world. So
why can't we pay a decent age to everyone?

If these goons get away with this attack, what's to stop them
from going ahead and gutting the entire minimum wage law? Just like
with the Concealed Gun Act and the Stem Cell Act, Missouri Nanny
State politicians are getting above themselves with an arrogant
assurance that they know better than the voters what's best for the
state.

It's a travesty of democracy when legislators take it upon
themselves to override the will of the people. We Missourians need to
stop them from their overreaching power grab. It's time we
Missourians started to hold our elected officials accountable.

Missouri legislators might want to remember that the people they
think are too stupid and incompetent to understand what they are
voting for are the same people who put them into office.

Barbara Lee
Lees Summit, Mo.

Priorities

The person who will become president of the United States in 2008
needs to attempt to do many things that will improve life for the
American people. In my opinion there are two matters that are most
important. They are described as follows.

1. End the war with Iraq. This war has killed over 3,000 of our
troops and maimed many others. We do not know how many Iraqis have
been killed, but it is a huge number. Probably well over 50,000. The
war is so costly that American domestic programs are being reduced or
eliminated.

2. Provide the American people with a universal health care
program that will give all Americans health care at little or no cost
to them. As it stands now our health care system is, per capita, the
most costly in the world. Universal health care would be far less
costly than our present system. Furthermore, since over 40 million
Americans have no health insurance, many of the uninsured are not
getting health care, and our health care statistics are terrible
compared to most nations that provide universal health care. For
example, life expectancy: US 77.7 years, Canada 80.1 years. In the
US, for every 1,000 births 6.5 children die. In Canada this figure is
4.8. We are the only advanced industrial nation that does not provide
universal health care for our people.

If we end the war in Iraq and get universal health care, life
will improve greatly for Americans.

Dan Carmichael
Ironwood, Mich.

Respect Iraq

President Bush has just vetoed the first legislation that would
have required the US to begin withdrawing military troops from Iraq.
It framed a new policy of support for political and economic
solutions to the occupation.

What will be accomplished if Congress now just votes more money
for the same failed Iraq policy? Rather than bringing a solution to
the violence, isn't the US military presence in Iraq a big part of
the problem in their civil war? Hasn't the time come to make definite
plans to withdraw from Iraq, require diplomatic negotiations with
Iraq's neighbors and fund reconstruction efforts?

As our Tuesday evening Peace Links speaker (a lifelong medical
missionary in several war-torn countries) answered a question about
Iran, "I have yet to meet a person with whom I could not communicate
if I listened to him/her and treated that person with respect."

I believe it is time that our Congress focuses on a political
solution, not the same failed military strategy. Our and Iraqi
citizens are dying daily. The president has dug our country into a
deep hole in Iraq. Congress should not give him a bigger shovel to
continue digging but build a ladder to start climbing out."

Olive Wilson
Primghar, Iowa

Dim View of Biofuels

Replacing a mere 10% of the gasoline and diesel oil the US
consumes each year with ethanol from corn and biodiesel from soybeans
would require a whopping 78% of our crop land! Impossible! That
includes the 35% of crop land presently growing all of our corn and
soybeans used for food, feedstock, export and some ethanol. Many of
the 22 other essential crops would be squeezed out and food prices
would skyrocket!

The math is tricky and if Washington has done it they're keeping
it a secret, thinking, "let's not spoil it for the 300-plus ethanol
and biodiesel plants already built or planned -- they make wonderful
profits from the generous subsidies, tax credits/incentives and other
fed/state perks."

The total US crude oil consumption is 20,030,000 barrels PER DAY
(0.9-mile diameter lake 6.5 ft deep), two-thirds of it imported. The
US, with 5% of the world's population, consumes 24% of the world's
output! This easy-to-extract oil runs out in 40 years! US's gasoline
(refined from crude oil) consumption is 140 billion gallons per year;
diesel oil 38 billion gallons per year.

The total farm land in the US is 1,470,000 square miles (51% of
the 48 contiguous states); our total crop land is 680,000 sq. miles
(46% of farm land); pasture land is 620,000 sq. miles (42% of farm
land); 12% of farm land is buildings, roads, ponds and woods. Info
sources: 2006 World Almanac, p. 121, 123, 426, 475;
www.ers.usda.gov/StateFacts/us.htm.

The 2004 corn crop, 11.8 billion bushels, requiring 17.5% of crop
land, was used for feedstock, food and exports; 1.5 billion bushels
was converted to ethanol. The 2004 soybean crop was 3.1 billion
bushels using 17.8% of crop land.

Fred Mathews
Beloit, Wis.

Stop Animal Testing

I guess like millions of other Americans, I didn't want to know of
the needless cruel testing and torture of countless innocent animals.
But I do know -- and I will not buy any products ever again from
companies conducting these atrocities and will tell everyone I know
and anyone I can reach to do the same! Because I do know!

Most of this testing and torture of animals in the manner is
needless. There are more and more good alternatives. Large
corporations do what is faster, easier and do not care in the least
who or what they hurt and destroy. We have seen this over and over.
The cigarette companies, the chemical industry, the pharmaceuticals,
etc. The despicable treatment of animals, such as rabbits, in the
food and fur chains, and patenting animals as "compositions of
matter" and then subjecting countless animals to blindness, cancer,
nerve gas, etc. is more of the same.

Why are corporations and universities getting away with this
cruel murder and much worse? In most part, because the public doesn't
see it. Go online at PETAtv.com to access video of this animal
concentration camp and to learn what you can do to help. You can also
contact the American Anti-Vivisection Society, 800-SAY-AAVS.

Please get the lists of companies that refuse to stop these cruel
practices and boycott their products. It will save millions of
innocent animals countless hours of pain and horror.

It is not OK but it is not your pain. If you love animals, it is
your pain, too.